Top 10 iPhone Food Apps

Urbanspoon was one of the first applications in the iTunes app store and it remains one of the most popular.

Screenshot by HowStuffWorks.com

Apple launched the iPhone App Store in iTunes in 2008. Among the apps Apple chose to demonstrate at its press event was a restaurant-finding application called Urbanspoon. The free application gained early buzz for its innovative user interface and fun design. It remains one of the most popular applications on iTunes.

The app uses three factors to classify restaurants: neighborhood, type of cuisine and price. UrbanSpoon arranges these three factors into slots like a slot machine. Shake your iPhone, and the app spins the three columns. Once the columns stop, the application will search for restaurants that meet those criteria and present you with a result. Results bring you to a page giving you the restaurant's phone number, address and user reviews. Don't like the results? Just give the phone another shake.

You can choose to lock a column in place if you like, limiting your choices to a specific neighborhood, type of cuisine or price point. The random element adds in a bit of fun and can inspire you to try a place you've never visited before.